


Kiss Me Thru the Phone

by cooloutsides



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:01:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14658990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cooloutsides/pseuds/cooloutsides
Summary: Max is newly single; Victoria is what you'd call a veteran. Taylor meddles and the two match on Tinder. Hilarity ensues.





	1. Swipe Right

**Author's Note:**

> Title is derived from the man himself, Soulja Boy (tell em).

"Oh my god! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god--" Taylor squealed, jumping up and down.

 

Victoria rolled her eyes at her best friend's antics. She was being ridiculous. "Use your words, T."

 

"You're never going to guess who I just found," Taylor crooned, eyes filled with mischief. 

 

An ex girlfriend, probably. Maybe a one night stand from years back. 

 

Or maybe someone Taylor knew. 

 

Taylor let out a frustrated sigh when she realized Victoria wasn't going to buy into her little game. "Two words: Max. Caulfield."

 

Victoria's eyes grew wide as she snatched the phone out of Taylor's hand, scrolling through Max's profile.

 

And there she was.

 

There was her and her Polaroid, there was her and a puppy, there was her with her hair pulled back, there was her on the beach, there was---

 

Wait.

What the  _ fuck _ ?!

Why the fuck was  _ Max _ on  _ Tinder _ ?!

 

Last time Victoria checked (and trust me, she  _ wasn't _ checking), Max was in a long term relationship. With an artist of some sort. From San Francisco. They were living together out here; she purposely avoided them around town. Not that she was checking or anything, but.

 

Victoria briefly closed the app to open up Facebook. She immediately went to Max's profile and saw all that she needed to see.

 

**Relationship status: single.**

 

"Holy shit," Victoria breathed, dumbfounded. 

 

Snickering, Taylor quickly grabbed the phone out of Victoria's hands. Before Victoria could question or protest, Taylor was already doubled over in laughter. 

 

"T, what the fuck," Victoria inquired, growing steadily tired. This wasn't a fucking joke. 

 

Unable to speak, Taylor simply showed Victoria the screen. 

 

That bitch just superliked Max Caulfield. 

 

* * *

 

 

Victoria was going to kill Taylor. 

 

For humiliating her in front of her high school arch nemesis turned colleague turned friend. 

Were they friends? Just because they lived in the same city and worked in the same field didn’t make them friends, did it? 

 

More importantly, where was she supposed to hide Taylor’s body? 

 

After realizing Victoria wasn’t going to lighten up, Taylor threw her famous puppy eyes and half hearted apologies. But Victoria wasn’t going to have it. Not until her cheeks stopped burning red. Taylor ultimately ended up ignoring her best friend’s apparent embarrassment and ordered take out and a movie. That would cheer her up.

 

Or at least she hoped. 

 

A loud knock drew the duo’s eyes away from  _ Crazy, Stupid, Love _ and towards the door. Victoria huffed as she got up from the couch, wallet in hand, and headed towards the door. Sure, Taylor would always order the food, but it was always up to Victoria to answer the door and tip. Typical.

 

“Thanks so much,” Victoria said as she took the bag full of food from the young delivery boy. “Wait! Don’t forget your tip!” 

 

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, almost as if in response to her command. She hastily handed off a wad of singles to the boy before shutting the door and grabbing for her phone. 

 

_ Congratulations! You have a new match. _

 

Victoria simply rolled her eyes and switched her phone onto silent before tossing it onto the couch. Thanks, Tinder. She didn’t bother to even check and see who it was; she didn’t care. All she really cared about right now was her plate full of California rolls and the plot of the movie.

 

Except she had already seen this movie at least a hundred times. 

Sixteen year old Victoria was really into rom-coms. 

Twenty-five year old Victoria thought true love was a sham. 

 

Growing bored, Victoria popped another piece of sushi into her mouth before absentmindedly opening up Tinder. She wasn’t engaged in what the app had to offer; her usage was primarily out of habit at this point. 

 

Let’s see which wannabe art-hoe she matched with today. 

Her finger idly swiped through photos of recent art school graduates, her eyes glazing over their still supple cheeks and wrinkle-free skin. They had light in their eyes, diplomas in hand. 

They never worked full-time jobs. 

 

She nearly yawned as she scrolled through yet another profile meeting the same criteria: supple cheeks, wrinkle free skin, freckles. 

 

Wait.

Freckles weren’t necessarily on the list. However, they certainly were an added bonus.

... _ Shit _ .

 

How the fuck did Max manage to avoid wrinkling! They essentially had the same job in the same waif, hipster, yuppie city. And yet, Victoria was already masking her crow’s feet. 

 

Max had let her hair grow out just a little longer since high school. More of a lob, if you will. Her bangs sometimes fell into her eyes; sometimes she clipped them back or put them up into adorable little ponytails. She still looked overwhelmingly the same, albeit just a little bit older. More mature, refined, confident. Happy. 

 

Max seemed happy.

 

The sudden vibration from Victoria’s phone caused her to snap back into reality. The little red notification in the corner indicated a new message.

 

Here we go.

 

“Well, well, well… :)”

 

Classic Maxine Caulfield. 

Eighteen year old Victoria would have dubbed her  _ Lamefield _ . Adult Victoria’s insults were a lot more sophisticated now, but Adult Max was still just as lame. Victoria had always found it to be cute. 

 

“Oh god. Can you tell that this is Taylor’s doing?” 

 

Victoria wasn’t entirely sure how she would’ve reacted to finding Max on the app for herself. She probably would’ve froze. Closed the app. Mulled it over for a few minutes. Opened the app. Screenshotted Max’s profile… and sent it to Taylor. Taylor would’ve given her an excited, rapid-fire text storm telling her to  _ go for it _ . What could she possibly have to lose, after all these years? 

 

She would then open the app again, and close it promptly after getting cold feet. She’d text Courtney. Courtney would give genuine, rational advice before going on to talk about her and her boyfriend. Gross. 

 

Victoria knew she would’ve swiped right, silently hoping to match with Max. 

 

And here we are. 

 

“Haha, that makes sense. I was surprised to even be superliked, let alone by you!”

 

Victoria paused.

Max… was surprised? She was such a catch! A young, attractive, successful photographer in a big city. Big, bright blue eyes. Freckles covering her face. Shit-eating grin. Victoria could still sense the tinge of insecurity dotting Max’s personality, even if her public persona hid it very well. 

 

“Lmao. Sooo… what brings you to the lovely world of Tinder?”

 

Victoria couldn’t help but ask. What happened to Max’s  _ California Girl _ ? They seemed so happy together, so  _ perfect. _ Always together around town, always disgustingly cute in pictures together on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

The sudden sensation of a slipper hitting her arm caused Victoria to snap back into reality. She turned to see Taylor holding back laughter.

 

“Hello? Are you even watching?” She attempted, trying to be stern with her friend. Victoria rolled her eyes in response.

 

“Tay, we’ve seen this movie like, a million times. Give it a rest,” Victoria remarked, returning her attention back to her phone. “Besides, I’m talking to Max.” 

 

Taylor leapt from her seat and quickly nuzzled up next to Victoria. “Lemme see!” she squealed, her hands outstretched for the other blonde’s phone. 

 

Nosy. Always so nosy. 

 

“She just responded,” Victoria muttered, nose buried into her phone, eyes rapidly reading every one one of Max’s words. 

 

“ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Putting myself back “out there” after my break up. I’ve never used a dating app before, and Chloe told me that it’s time to be an active member of the 21st century, lol. Not really sure what I’m doing and not looking for anything serious… what about you?” 

 

“Fuck her!” Taylor exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. Victoria raised an incredulous eyebrow, prompting her best friend to explain herself. “Like, you know,  _ fuck _ her. In this apartment. In this bedroom.” Victoria let out a choked laugh, rolling her eyes. “I mean, why not, Vic?! She’s not looking for anything serious… you matched… you’re hot… fuck her!” 

 

It’s not like Victoria had never thought about having sex with Max.

Max had a way of slipping into Victoria’s teenage fantasies during their time together at Blackwell. 

 

But it’s not like Victoria could be so…  _ forward _ with her interest, which was vague, to say the least. They were adults now-- with adult jobs and adult houses and adult interests and adult lives. Max didn’t flit in and out of Victoria’s daydreams any longer. Victoria really only thought about her when passing in town or brushing shoulders at some photography event. 

 

Or apparently, right now. 

After nearly a decade, Max Caulfield had found her way into Victoria’s bedroom once again. Albeit remotely. 

 

“No,” Victoria muttered simply. “No,” she repeated pointedly at Taylor as she locked her phone and tossed it aside. “Let’s just finish this movie.” 

 

Taylor scoffed in response, looking at Victoria incredulously. Was she serious? But Victoria silenced her by throwing a stern look and she decided to keep her mouth shut. 

 

Taylor would get Max and Victoria together… somehow. 

She would just have to be a little patient. 


	2. Cafe au Lait

“You have to look hot, Max!” Chloe exclaimed in response to Max’s latest outfit choice.

 

The brunette’s wardrobe had undoubtedly upgraded since high school, but the bar was _low_. She was still a big proponent of t-shirts and jeans, but her look was more… adult. More refined. Less graphic tees with dorky quips, more solids. Max had a t-shirt for everything-- for every occasion in every color.

 

“We’re meeting for Coffee, Chlo. Not going to the Met Gala.”

“The what?” Max groaned in response. “...What about something Rachel’s given you!”

 

Rachel was a wildly successful actress/model/sex icon/de-facto wife of Chloe. All of the above. But most of all, she was incredibly generous. She often gifted Max ritsy, designer clothes from her wardrobe, because the two were close in size. “Here, this is from last season; it’ll look great on you!” or “Marc Jacobs made this for me, but it’ll look much better on you,” Rachel would say. And Max would politely thank her before shoving the clothes to the back of her closet.

 

“You know I’ve never worn any of those clothes,” Max moaned, rubbing her head.

“Well why not start! Go grab that… that peach top. You know, the one Rachel wore to that movie premiere with Brad Pitt.”

 

Ah yes.

The aforementioned glorified piece of peach fabric.

Max knew exactly what Chloe was referencing.

 

Instead of protesting, Max silently complied, dug the shirt out from her closet and put it on.

 

“I can’t go out like this,” Max muttered, her cheeks turning the same color as the shirt.

 

“Of course you can’t… put some pants on first, genius.”

“Chloe, I refuse to go out in a halter top,” Max huffed, pulling the shirt up and over her head. She ignored her friend’s cat calls as they came through her laptop’s speakers and headed back towards her closet for a sensible outfit.

 

She settled on a nice cardigan over a simple shirt and of course, blue jeans.

Admittedly, it was a step up from her signature high school look.

“How about this?”

“You look like Max, Max.”

“Phew.. I think if I showed up looking like you or Rachel, Victoria would have a heart attack.”

“And would that be so bad?”

 

* * *

 

High school Victoria would show up for a date ten minutes early, just so her date would look incredibly late.

Adult Victoria wanted to be early, but not too early, and certainly not late.

 

She settled for exactly on time.

Which meant 3 minutes early.

 

She idly swirled the straw around her iced latte, checking her watch. As expected, the seconds ticked by and by before striking 3:00 on the dot.

 

C’mon, Max.

 

The blonde repeatedly went between sipping her coffee and checking her watch out of habit. Because she wasn’t nervous to see Max in a date-like setting.

 

No.

Not at all.

 

3:02 pm.

 

The jingling of bells drew Victoria’s attention to the door; and there she was. Max Caulfield in the flesh, beautiful as ever. Cheeks slightly ruddy, eyes wide and searching.

 

Victoria pretended not to see her.

Suddenly her watch was _so_ interesting. Was it new? No, she had had it for years but kept it in _such_ great condition! And it was designer, _of course_. Limited edit--

 

“Victoria? Victoria! Hey,” Max called out, walking in the blonde’s direction.

 

A wave of feigned disinterest came over Victoria against her own will.

“You’re late… Caulfield,” she uttered; her voice icy, her eyes fixated on her watch.

 

It was two minutes.

Rolling her eyes, Max turned on her heel and headed for the door.

She didn’t have _time_ for _this_.

 

“Max, wait.”

Victoria didn’t know what came over her; why being around Max suddenly made her feel so _juvenile_ . It was as if they were suddenly transported back to Black _hell,_ back to when Victoria was merely a schoolyard bully and Max was the new photography prodigy.

 

She watched with wide eyes as the brunette paused a beat, and turned back around to face her. Victoria was sorry, but didn’t know how to apologize. That was one of the few things about her that didn’t change with age.

 

“Let me buy your drink,” the blonde offered.

“I asked for this d… um, asked to hang out, so. I think I’m supposed to pay,” Max began, her bright blue eyes falling to the nearly empty drink in Victoria’s hand. “But I guess you beat me to it.”

“Fuck the rules,” Victoria said, rising to her feet. “I was a dick. I’m buying your drink.”

 

Surely, that would make it up to Max.

Or at least she hoped.

If she learned anything from being a Chase, then it was that money surely _could_ buy you happiness.

 

* * *

 

“I wasn’t happy anymore,” Max muttered, squirming in her seat. She felt like she was under surveillance under Victoria’s intent but curious green eyes. She just didn’t like talking about this. Not here, not now, not ever. “...As cliche as that sounds. But I really wasn’t… and I think it showed in my work. It took a really dark turn that was pretty unnatural, at least for me.”

 

Word vomit. Photographic jargon.

She took a long sip of her tea.

 

Victoria thought Max’s work was great; she had always thought that. But she was right-- her most recent work differed from her previous style. It nearly mimicked Victoria’s innate haughtiness, except it was more introspective. If you looked closely enough, you could see the pain there.

 

Victoria didn’t have an appropriate response.

 

“...So what about you? How’s your love life been?”

 

Fruitless.

 

“I’ve been on more Tinder dates than I’d like to admit,” Victoria muttered, gingerly sipping the last bit of coffee.

 

“And now you’re here with me.”

“And now I’m here with you.”

 

Quite honestly, Max was a break from the routine. A break from the monotonous routine of meeting up with random women after exchanging exactly 12 words, having dull first dates, fucking ‘til the sun comes up, and never speaking again.

 

But this wasn’t a date… was it?

Max had purposefully avoided using the d-word.

This was two old friends… “hanging out.”

...Were they even friends?

 

“It’s kind of funny that we’re sitting here talking about professional photography over coffee.”

“My mother once said that I make it difficult for people to love me,” Victoria blurted, her eyes fixated on her now-empty cup.

 

Max took another long sip of her tea.

 

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Isn’t it, though?” Victoria said dryly, letting out a humorless laugh.

 

Victoria’s first (and last) girlfriend was years in the past. Victoria met her during her junior year of college. Anya was a freshman, at least until she dropped out. She was from Russia. She brought heroin-chic back from the grave after nearly two decades. She became Victoria’s sole muse.

 

Victoria’s early portfolio was filled with Anya.

Victoria loved her.

Anya said Victoria scared her. She said she loved her too deeply. She said it was too much.

 

And that was the end of that.

 

“Whatever,” Victoria said nonchalantly, rising to her feet. She chucked her cup into the trash nearby and instinctively checked her watch. She didn’t want to waste _all_ of Max’s time.

 

Max quietly followed suit, feeling slightly awkward. Victoria took it _there_ and she didn’t know how to recover the situation.

 

Victoria just decided to end it.

Before it got worse.

 

“It was really good to see you, Victoria,” Max breathed, a blush creeping to her cheeks.

 

This was always the worst part.

The end.

The avoidance of eye contact because it was this unspoken thing, this loaded question:

 

To kiss, or to awkwardly hug before running for the hills in opposite directions?

 

“Yeah, you too,” Victoria muttered, and next thing you know, there were tiny arms wrapping around her waist.

 

Shocked, the blonde had to snap herself out of her stupor to hug Max back.

She could think about how perfectly their bodies fit together later.

When she was alone in her bed, in her room, in her apartment.

 

“Don’t be a stranger,” Max smiled, pulling away after just a beat too long. She quickly swung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the exit before Victoria could remark on how red she was turning.

 

And like that, she was gone.

Victoria glanced down at her watch.

 

5:30.

Shit.

 

She let out an exasperated sigh for not one, but two reasons:

 

  1. Rush hour traffic, and
  2. She knew she'd be thinking about Max the entire way home.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! thank you for all the positive feedback thus far :~) sorry this chapter took a while to post, but i do hope you enjoy it!


	3. The Plan

“We haven’t really talked much since then,” Max shrugged, surveying the room she had just tidied. 

Chloe had surprised her by driving up from California for a routine Chloe-style visit. 

Which usually meant Chloe bombastically appearing while Max was in the middle of something relatively important. 

 

Max didn’t mind too much; she loved seeing her best friend. She just wished Chloe would at least call first, instead of banging on her front door pretending to be the “NYPD.” 

Even though Max lived across the country. 

In Seattle. 

 

A call just would give her enough time to straighten up prior to Chloe’s arrival. It would give her time to free her schedule, to give her intern more tasks instead of a day off. 

 

But whatever. Max was happy to see her best friend.

 

“Lemme see. I can’t even imagine what you guys talk about,” Chloe said, reaching for Max’s phone. Reluctantly, the brunette handed it over, despite knowing her friend would send a stupid text asking for “n00ds” or something. 

 

“We had nice conversations over coffee, I guess,” Max began recalling their…  _ meet-up _ last week. Sure, it had its lulls and awkward moments, but it also had really nice moments, too. 

 

Like when Max made Victoria laugh so hard she let out a little snort and tried to cover it up. And how it made Max blush, which Victoria thought was really cute.

 

“These are  _ boring _ ,” Chloe groaned, finger deftly scrolling through the limited amount of messages. “And she ghosts you… a lot.”

 

“Ghosts me…?”

“You know-- she leaves you on read. Doesn’t respond. Leaves you hangin’.”

“Oh… oh.”

 

Max was unfamiliar with the term and concept. The modern dating scene was foreign to her. For years, she didn’t have to worry about swiping right to affirm someone’s attractions, or worry if and/or  _ when _ they’d ever respond to her messages. 

 

She had a lot of catching up to do. 

 

“ _ How was your day? Good, how was yours? _ ” Chloe mocked, still going through Max’s phone.

 

Max rolled her eyes. She knew.

This…  _ thing _ with Victoria was going nowhere. 

Max’s impending self-deprecating mental spiral was interrupted by Chloe’s cackling.

 

“Holy shit,” she breathed between laughs, tossing the phone back to the brunette.

 

Great. What stupid text did Chloe manage to send out without Max noticing?

 

Oh. Speak of the devil:

A new message from Victoria. 

 

_ “Um. Since when do your friends talk to mine?” _

 

Wait what?

 

“Give it. Give it back. I’ve got a genius response,” Chloe grinned, hands reaching for Max’s phone. Without thinking, Max handed it back to her friend. It wasn’t like she had anything to say; she wasn’t quite sure of what was happening.

 

Chloe’s fingers expertly typed away at the keyboard, shit-eating grin on her face before she erupted in another fit of laughter. 

 

And then the phone started ringing. 

Victoria Chase would like to Facetime. 

 

“Jesus Christ, Chloe. What did you do?” Max groaned, not knowing what to do with the phone in her hands.

“Answer it! Answer it!” Chloe squealed, eyes alight with mischief.

 

Here goes nothing.

 

“What do you mean that my fr--”   
“V, before you say anything else, just know that Chloe sent those messages, not me. I don’t even know what they say.”

 

A beat.

 

“Figures. You’re with her right now?”

“Yeah, surprise visit.”

 

Another beat.

 

“Alright. Whatever. Call me back later.”

 

And another.

“Please. I mean only if you want to. Whatever. Bye.”

 

Well alright then. 

Max exhaled and opened up her messages. She figured it was time to see exactly how much damage Chloe had done.

 

_ Um. I think we got pretty close when they wrapped their thighs around my head ;) _

 

Max blushed. Chloe erupted into another fit of giggles. Shaking her head, Max locked her phone and tossed it aside. She couldn’t even be mad at her best friend. Mostly because she  _ wasn’t _ wrong. 

 

* * *

 

Victoria raked the spoolie brush over her already perfectly shaped eyebrows time after time, making sure that not a single hair was astray. 

 

She took a step back from the mirror, giving herself a sharp onceover. 

She looked good. Effortlessly good. It didn’t look like she was trying to look good at all. 

 

She knew it was stupid to get dressed and put on makeup just to Facetime Max, but she couldn’t help herself. 

 

Max had promised to call as soon as Chloe had gone to bed for the night. Victoria checked her phone; it was getting late. So she climbed into her own bed, adjusted the lighting so it was perfect, and waited. And waited.

 

And waited.

 

_ Max Caulfield would like to Facetime _

 

Victoria’s finger hovered over the ‘accept’ button, letting the phone ring a few more times before answering. She didn’t want Max to think that she had been sitting here, waiting for her call.

Even though that was exactly what she had been doing.

 

“Hey,” Victoria breathed, forcing nonchalance into her hello.

 

Max broke into a dopey grin. “Hey V. What’s up?”

 

“Not much,” Victoria replied, her voice trailing off as she began to scrutinize the girl on her screen. Max’s eyes were barely open and she was grinning like she had just won the lottery. “Were you sleeping?”

 

“Nah… no. No, I was just with Chloe. Helping her, uh, get ready for bed.”

 

...Right.

 

“You’re high,” Victoria concluded, letting out a dry laugh. 

“I’m not!” Max quickly refuted, albeit unsuccessfully, because she burst into a fit of giggles before she could effectively sell her argument.

 

Victoria almost hung up on the spot, but the little angel on her shoulder encouraged patience. She bit her tongue and waited for Max to collect herself. 

 

In reality, Max wasn’t  _ that _ high. Chloe insisted on smoking a bowl before bed and… Max couldn’t resist a hit. Or two. It didn’t matter-- it wasn’t her fault she was a lightweight.

 

Max cleared her throat, focusing her attention back on the clearly not amused blonde on her screen. Right. Here goes. 

“So,” the brunette began, gaining her composure.

 

“So. Looks like Chloe still gets off on riling me up,” Victoria said, rolling her eyes.

 

“Yeah… about that. You didn’t know?”

“Didn’t know what?”

 

Max burst out in another fit of giggles, her face turning pink. She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with Victoria right now. On one hand, this conversation was ridiculous. On the other, being high definitely didn’t help the situation. 

 

“Your friends have hooked up with my friend. Er, friends? I think Rachel was in on the mix a few times, too.” 

 

Victoria idly stared at her phone screen as Max detailed the various…  _ encounters  _ between Taylor and Chloe. And Courtney. And Rachel.

 

_...Ew.  _

 

“Alright, you can stop now. You’re grossing me out,” Victoria interjected, her brow furrowing at the images that were forcibly put inside her head.

“I texted you earlier because Taylor and Chloe apparently masterminded this whole…  _ date _ for us. To go on. Together. Again? I mean, if you want.”

 

Max tilted her head to the side, raising a curious eyebrow. “Victoria, if you wanted to see me again, you could’ve just asked me yourself.”

 

“I uh, was planning on it,” Victoria gulped, a blush creeping to her cheeks against her will. “But I guess they beat me to the punch. Ugh, hold on.”

 

Victoria swiftly paused the call to open up her group chat with Taylor and Courtney. Of course her explanation to Max didn’t make any sense; it was because the entire concept didn’t make any sense. 

 

“And I quote: Max takes you out on a trial date. Like an actual date, not that stupid coffee shit you did last time. You act normally. And then Max critiques your dating skills. Rates you on a scale or something and then gives you tips to improve,’ Victoria trailed off, purposefully omitting the part where it said _ ‘...so you can get back to baggin’ bitches.’ _ Because it wasn’t relevant. 

 

“Hm, interesting concept,” Max replied, yawning. “And Chloe cosigned this idea?”

“You sound like you’re surprised.”

Max chuckled. “You’re right, I’m not.” Less surprised, more appalled. “Are you comfortable with it?”

“...Are you?” Victoria replied, her voice smaller than normal. 

 

She didn’t want Max to treat her like a charity case. She didn’t want Max to go out on these stupid trial dates with her just so she could politely pretend that Victoria wasn’t god awful to go out with. 

 

But at the same time… Victoria wanted to go out with Max. 

Except her friends kind of fucked it all up.

So now… she would settle for this.

 

“What if you critique me too? I’m painfully awkward and haven’t been on the dating scene for years. Does that sound fair?”

 

Victoria paused for a moment. Hm. Well, it would sure make things interesting. “Sure,” she responded cooly, keeping her tone even. “Why the hell not.” 

 

“Okay,” Max murmured after a few seconds, her blue eyes wide and trying to gauge a genuine reaction from Victoria.

The truth is, Max thought Victoria was great-- she always had. She didn’t want to go on these… playdates with her just because their friends thought it would be a good idea. She wanted to make sure Victoria was comfortable with it all.

 

“Okay,” Victoria confirmed, expression refusing to falter. 

Max wondered if the blonde’s nonchalance was nature or nurture. 

 

The brunette yawned, rubbing at her eyes. “Well, I should get to bed. Being high is draining,” she began, offering Victoria’s a small smile. “We can work the logistics out later.”

 

“Yeah, of course. Um… thanks for calling back,” Victoria responded, which elicited a grin from the girl on the other side of the screen. “Goodnight, Max.”

 

“Goodnight, Victoria.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone if you're still here! and if you're new, then welcome!
> 
> sorry that this chapter took literally FOREVER to publish... i had been working on it for a while and it's one of those filler chapters that you need to further your plot but you actually hate writing. regardless, i hope you enjoy it! i should have the next chapter up... at some point this year. just kidding! hopefully it'll be up soon. it's hard being a student / employee / teenager/ writer / human being sometimes :,-)


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